Swedish style comes to the Avenue in Greenwich

Olivia Just

Published 9:49 pm, Wednesday, December 12, 2012

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Lexington Company's second U.S. location in Greenwich, at 73 Greenwich Avenue, which opened last month. The Swedish-based company makes home decor and clothing lines to fit in with a New England aesthetic.

Lexington Company's second U.S. location in Greenwich, at 73 Greenwich Avenue, which opened last month. The Swedish-based company makes home decor and clothing lines to fit in with a New England aesthetic.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Swedish style comes to the Avenue in Greenwich

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Lexington Company, a Swedish-based home decorating and fashion company, opened its latest U.S. store on Greenwich Avenue, just in time to supply customers with plaid flannel blankets and cashmere throws to curl up by the fire with, or wrap into gifts.

Lexington Company's concept store, which opened officially last month, mixes the clean, simple lines of Swedish style with a similarly fresh New England aesthetic, said Kristina Lindhe, the company's CEO and creative director.

"Our customers are interested in home decoration and fashion," Lindhe said. "They like the heritage of the New England style, and appreciate our Scandinavian freshness and background. The style is very friendly and positive. It appeals to a lot of people all over the world. Even though we have European, Chinese or American customers -- they can [all] identify with the lifestyle."

Dubbed the "Ralph Lauren of Europe," Lexington has established an international presence, but Greenwich marks the company's second U.S. location; the first was opened in the Hamptons in New York. The privately held company sees $80 million in annual sales at more than 900 retail outlets around the world.

"I think it's a great idea, based on all the calls I've been getting about it at the chamber," O'Kane said. "There seems to be a demand for Swedish items and goods." Lexington's holidays collections include plenty of wintry items often associated with the snows of Sweden and New England alike: pillows embroidered with evergreen trees, fur-lined stockings and plaid tablecloths. Though best known for its bedding lines, according to Lindhe, the company also carries clothing, featuring items like moose-patterned sweaters, flannel shirts and down parkas.

"Everyone's familiar with the sense of wearing a nice, high-quality shirt, and then comparing this with a cheap, poor-quality one. It's exactly the same with our bedding," Lindhe said. "We have a lot of different qualities, such as pinpoint oxford cotton, poplin cotton, sateen and flannel."

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Greenwich Avenue works as a location because many of the shoppers who seek out the downtown hub are the "classic Lexington customers," Lindhe added. The store follows a cluster of other new stores that have cropped up on the avenue, O'Kane said.

"There seems to be an advent of new retailers," O'Kane said. "I think they [Lexington] seem like a very good fit."